Thursday, June 23, 2011

I went to Oakland last night and saw some music and then my dog got attacked this morning (unrelated)

Let me just say preliminarily that I'm a little freaked out right now because when I took my dog for his walk at like 6:30 this morning we came around a corner and he got attacked by 3 bigger dogs. I got them off him and scooped him up and managed to yell "Put your fucking dog on a leash" before I saw that they had leashes on but I guess the chick walking them couldn't control her dogs. Last I saw as I was scurrying away was her chasing one of the dogs down the middle of the fucking street. My dog's back leg got cut and he was bleeding but now it's stopped but I'm kind of freaked out even though he's fine. Sheesh, being a parent must be fucking IMPOSSIBLE if I get this freaked out about my dog getting hurt. I don't know how you guys do it.

ANYWAY. Last night we went to see Okkervil River at the Fox in Oakland. I used to like Okkervil River. In case you're not familiar, it's semi-anthemic earnest guitar-based indie rock for white people. Seriously, I did not see a single Person of Color at the show. Not even an Asian. This must be what Iceland looks like.

So just a couple of observations about Okkervil River at the Fox Theater:

1. I say I "used to like" Okkervil River because I'm not sure if I love them any more. They kind of lost me halfway through their set when they did the obligatory Slow Portion with the lead singer Will Sheff just playing acoustic guitar by himself and then it went on and on and on with one dirge after another and it was SO BORING. Is it possible my attention span's gotten shorter as I've gotten older? How could that be?

2. Speaking of Will Sheff, it occurs to me that he sorta looks like Time Lincecum! Check it out:

Weird, huh?

3. I know I sound like a crank who just likes to bitch, but I have sung Okkervil River's praises in the past, so that's not entirely true. I mean, I am a crank who likes to bitch, but not just a crank who likes to bitch.

4. No, really, when I saw them at the Independent a few years ago, it was maybe one of the best shows I've ever seen! They were fucking KILLER. Significantly, there was no long boring part in the middle.

5. The encore was "Westfall" and "Unless It's Kicks," so that was good. "Unless It's Kicks" is maybe one of my favorite songs ever.

6. I like the Fox in Oakland. The floor level has these different levels that lead up to the bar and at one of them there are tables and chairs. Where anyone can just sit! Heaven for old people like me. And the usher in front of us kept shooing people OUT OF OUR SIGHT LINE like I was the Prime Minister or something! I must have clicked on some box to get this service when I ordered the tickets online.

8 comments:

2. "Sheesh, being a parent must be fucking IMPOSSIBLE if I get this freaked out about my dog getting hurt. I don't know how you guys do it." From my experience being a pet owner, i am A. sure i am a terrible parent and my kids would end up lost (see: time my hamster ran away in the plastic ball and i never found it because maybe i was inebriated) B. if one of them got hurt i would be totally unable to cope. it took me 2 weeks to stop crying about my cat earlier this year.

I'm so sorry about your dog. I cringe every time I see some five-foot little skinny bitch walking a GIANT muscley pit bull that she could not possibly control if she needed to -- especially since my dogs are mostly defenseless, being as thin-skinned and submissive as they are. As to being a parent, at least kids don't usually bite each other sufficiently to draw blood, so you're probably OK. I've had my dogs attacked by coyotes right in front of me TWICE (requiring 80+ stitches each time) so I know how terrifying it is. So glad your dog is OK!

#3: I was also disappointed by OR's Treasure Island set and agree that that Independent show a couple years ago was one of the best live performances I've ever been to... but I have to think that maybe the Fox can take some of the blame here. I hate huge venues anyway, but I think as a performer it's got to be really hard to connect with your audience when there's just a GIANT faceless mass of them out there. This could also have been the problem with the large stage/crowd at the TI Festival. I think OR's music and Will Sheff's personality just lends itself to a more intimate setting. Also, I imagine they were playing a lot of material off the new record this time, and IMHO it's not one of their best in recent years. So I guess my point is, maybe you should give them a pass and see if next time they come back and play a better venue after they've made a better record?

The Fox is also great for all the places to get a drink. Seems there are mini bars all over the place. Like bars that are miniature, not minibars, although THAT would work, too...

I'm so sorry to hear about your pup's leg! The fact that I'm on the verge of tears even thinking about my dog being attacked reminds me why I don't have kids either...

This is the first I've heard of any dog attack phenomenon. Hard out there in the SFC. When I first brought my dog to America, I thought he was getting humped like crazy (he would get scratched up pretty bad) because he was French and the SF dogs were all "our owners are progressive but we can be conservative freedom dogs" but it was actually because he still had his balls. The lovely vets at the SPCA took care of that, stat. (In the French countryside, they don't neuter male dogs because they're chauvinistic, but they don't spay females because it's a pain in the ass. So you have lots of cute accidents like mine! I once asked the vet there if he could neuter mine and he said something like "I think I remember that from vet school... I could try...")

I had dogs for 15 years to prepare me for kids and it didn't. I had to pull a tick out of my daughter's head the other night (we were in northern Minnesota). I tortured the fucker afterward (the tick, not my daughter). Dog fights are the worst. Hope your doggie is ok.

About Me

TK lives and works in San Francisco. He occasionally travels to places east of the Caldecott Tunnel, but not very often. His interests include bars, reality TV, and irony. Things seem to be going fine.